Eternity Lost
by Jade Hunter
Summary: Highlander crossover. Immortality isn't all that it's cracked up to be, and Dorothy knows this well. Pasts come to haunt, and secrets are revealed. ON HOLD
1. Challenges and Watchers

**Title:** Eternity Lost

**Author:** Jade Hunter

**Disclaimer:** _Highlander_, its properties, and its characters do not belong to me. Neither do the characters and properties of _Gundam Wing_.

**A.N:** Yes, a GW/Highlander x-over, because Highlander can be crossed over with anything and work.

* * *

The 'buzz', as they had gotten to call it, wasn't really a buzz at all. It was more similar to a skull-cracking headache that blinded a person for a split second.

Of course, in the Game, a split second was all it took for eternity to be taken away.

Therefore, considering the adaptive nature of the human race, it came as no surprise that – as they grew older – Immortals got used to the pain and began to truly perceive it as a 'buzz'.

But whether youngling or ancient killer, there was no mistaking the presence of an Immortal – that is, if one happened to be an Immortal as well.

Now, she most certainly was an Immortal, and as of now, she most certainly sensed another one of her kind somewhere in the crowd behind her, trailing her like a lost pup. She was tense, one of her hands near where her sword was stashed for quick access, if need arose.

"Shit. I don't have time for this," she muttered, vehemently, "I would choose to walk the _one_ day."

This other Immortal was obviously tailing her, for although the buzz was quite efficient a radar, like any other radar, it had a range limit. The older an Immortal, the wider the range. She herself was quite experienced – she preferred that to being called old – and her senses stretched to quite a distance. From the way the other Immortal followed her, she deduced that the stupid fool thought she would be an easy quickening for him.

A sneer played out across pristine features.

Underestimating her was not a mistake any of her previous opponents had lived to regret; she would have to teach it to this upstart – by taking their head.

In the old days, perhaps she would have drawn out this cat-and-mouse came, enjoyed it, even, but she was living a different life now, one that had appointments to keep.

She would keep this fast and simple.

* * *

"There was a report of a strange electrical surge over the downtown area this morning." 

She let the comment hang in the air for a brief moment.

Then, "Would you like to tell me anything?"

Her charge turned bored and uncaring eyes on her, and she resisted the urge to shiver. The Immortal's ancient gaze always did this to her, and it didn't help that the eyes themselves were a pale blue color, seeming to jump out of the Immortal's face.

"You're my Watcher," the Immortal finally replied, challengingly. "Shouldn't you know before the press does?"

"You know that my responsibilities prevent me from – " she was interrupted.

"From following me around like a good little Watcher?" her charge asked, her expression shifting to that of crafty innocence.

She thinned her lips and frowned faintly. "Dorothy," she admonished, lightly.

"Lady Une," the Immortal mimicked, then rolled her eyes, now seeming as a regular young woman instead of an ancient woman that had seen more lifetimes than all the people in the building combined.

Well, probably. No one, not even the Watchers before Lady Une, knew exactly how old the woman currently going by the name of Dorothy was. It was never easy to tell with an Immortal, unless one was there when they first found out. Dorothy had been first spotted three hundred years ago, and had shown no hint of how old she was to anyone.

It was only in her sarcastic humor that her true age seemed to express itself; the Watcher's rulebook stated clearly that the older Immortals became, the less serious they seemed to become, as if disillusioned with the world. They seemed to express that through wry humor, and Dorothy certainly had that.

Though her current identity was far more prone to malicious humor rather than sarcastic humor, Dorothy had no troubles. She was a good actress – most Immortals were – and it was a simple matter to change the humor portion of her sarcasm into malice, which Dorothy did well.

_Perhaps,_ Lady Une reflected_, **too **well._

From Sally's reports, Quatre _still_ sported a scar from where Dorothy Catalonia had stabbed him with a rapier. And there was no doubt that, in public, Dorothy's tongue was three times as sharp as that rapier had been.

"Please," Lady Une insisted, tiredly. Handling an Immortal, being the head of the Preventors, and raising a pre-teen all by herself was taking her toll. "You know I need to know this for your records."

Dorothy shrugged. "It was a newbie," she explained, smirking. "He thought I would be easy prey, apparently. He was wrong."

"Obviously," Lay Une said. "Did he say who he was? Did you spot a Watcher following him?"

"Well, I didn't exactly give him a chance to talk, you know," Dorothy frowned, remembering. It was both a blessing and a curse for Immortals to have a near-photographic memory; they almost never forgot anything. "But he should have had a Watcher. He obviously knew what he was, despite his young age, and he had some training in the usage of the sword."

"Which means his instructor's Watcher would have reported him, and he would have been assigned a Watcher of his own," Lady Une concluded. "I suppose I'll have to wait until his Watcher reports the demise of his Immortal and try and match up the location to his."

"You suppose right, I suppose," came the tart reply.

Lady Une smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow night?"

For a moment, Dorothy drew up a blank. Then, she remembered; "Ah, yes. Relena's annual Christmas Ball. Yes, I'll be there." A pause. "Is Mariemaia coming?"

"She wants to," Lady Une replied, carefully. "I told her I'd see after her report card came."

Dorothy laughed lightly, saying, "You're stern, Lady Une. I'm glad I was never under your command in OZ."

"Many are," came the rejoinder. "But far more chose to suffer under me again by joining the Preventors, so it's not a big problem."

There was no reply.

Looking up from her paperwork, Lady Une saw that her Immortal charge was gone from the room, having slipped out sometime when she was talking.

"I _hate _when they do that."

* * *

TBC… 

Jade Hunter


	2. Cousins and Catherine

**Title:** Eternity Lost

**Author:** Jade Hunter

**Disclaimer:** _Highlander_, its properties, and its characters do not belong to me. Neither do the characters and properties of _Gundam Wing_.

**A.N:** Wow, it's been well over a year since I posted the first chapter, huh? Sorry about the delay. Too many fic ideas, too little willpower, and too much stress in real life has lead to my predicament.

* * *

She had always made an effort to see the child, and to make life easier for her, going so far as to sponsoring her entrance into one of the best private schools for young girls. She sometimes even took the girl away on vacation, for some bonding and to give Lady Une a break.

Contrary to what the girl might believe, it wasn't because she felt an obligation to Treize. After all, Treize had not been her true cousin, no matter what the world believed.

No, she did these things because keeping such personal track of Mariemaia was necessary.

" 'Lord, what fools these mortals be'," she quoted softly, her eyes like pale blue chips of ice as she gazed down at the pale girl on the hospital bed. " 'What fickle fools_…' " _

Lady Une glanced at the Immortal, "Dorothy?"

"Will she heal?" the other woman asked with closed eyes. "Be able to walk?"

Lady Une frowned, gazing down at Mariemaia, who was currently asleep, quite sallow looking, still recovering from the gunshot wound that had come so close to her spine. The head of the Preventors felt shivers of trepidation go through her as she answered, "She will be confined to a wheelchair for some time, but, eventually, yes."

Opening her eyes, Dorothy let out a small smile of pure relief. Lady Une, who had never seen her Immortal charge so free in expressing her emotions, narrowed her eyes in a silent question.

"It would have been terrible had she been paralyzed," the Immortal woman said in reply. "It would have been quite tragic and not without a bit of irony. Both too early and too late."

Furrowing her brows, Lady Une couldn't help but ask. "What would have been too early and too late?"

"Her Immortality," Dorothy answered promptly, dismissing the look of staggered shock that flickered over Lady Une's face.

"Immortality?" the former OZ Colonel echoed in a whisper. "She…she is a pre-Immortal?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, most definitely."

A heavy sigh left the commander of the Preventors as she realized, "Then that means she is not Treize-sama's daughter. She is a foundling."

"Of course, as all Immortals are." Then, Dorothy gave the other woman a shrewd stare. "Will you abandon her here, now that you know the truth? That she is not connected to our dearly departed Treize?"

Lady Une didn't hesitate in answering, indeed, she looked scandalized at the very suggestion. "Of course not! Treize-sama considered Mariemaia his daughter and I will follow that example. I will care for her as if she were truly his child."

Dorothy merely nodded, regarding the sleeping child stoically. "It's lucky for her that she lived today, and that she wasn't permanently damaged; I hope that luck holds out until she is old enough. I have enough blood on my hands."

Unfortunately, Lady Une knew most of what Dorothy meant. It was true that most Immortals only sought to live as normal a life as they possible could, but what was also true was that, every so often, a Headhunter would appear. And a Headhunter would have had no problems killing a child for a Quickening. The last comment was surprising, however, and not a little confusing.

"What?" she asked.

Brushing a lock of red hair from Mariemaia's cheek, Dorothy smiled humorlessly, letting her hand come to rest on top of the girl's head.

"Had she died today, she would have suffered greatly. I could not, in good consciousness, let that happen, and I would have been forced to take her head." At Lady Une's gasp, she turned her sharp gaze on the woman and said quietly, "I trust you will take careful steps to keep her alive for a while yet."

All Lady Une could do was nod.

fools 

Sometimes, in the privacy of her own mind, Dorothy had to admit that she was somewhat fond of the young girl as well, and it wasn't all merely for professional reasons.

Especially during times like these.

"How have you been, Mariemaia?" she asked, settling a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.

Both of them were too aware of the public and their own dignity to ever hug each other on meeting as most would have done in their place, but that had never stopped Mariemaia from searching out the woman she knew as her cousin whenever possible. Aside from Lady Une, Dorothy was her favorite person, because she could relate to many of the things Mariemaia had gone through.

Eyes shining with delight, the young girl answered carefully, "I have been doing well, Miss Dorothy, and you?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "Have you greeted Miss Relena yet?"

"When we first came in," Mariemaia confirmed. "She was greeting the guests."

"Ah." Although Relena had greeted her when she first arrived, that had been a good hour before Mariemaia's arrival, and Dorothy was once again surprised by the Vice Foreign Minister's dedication. "Well, if you've paid your respects to the host, then it would be perfectly acceptable to leave the talking to your elders, correct?"

The young girl smiled mischievously, something she rarely did, having grown up and living in the presence of those who always controlled their every emotions. "Entirely correct, Miss Dorothy. And since I would hate to be alone, do you mind accompanying me?"

"Of course not, Mariemaia," Dorothy said blithely, an answering twinkle in her eyes. They both knew exactly what they were doing: using Mariemaia's young age as an excuse to slip away from the boring party full of aged politicians. They had done it before, after all. "The gardens?"

Mariemaia readily agreed, and Dorothy smiled, leading the younger girl to the side doors that lead outside. She didn't know it, but many eyes followed their movements and noted their departure.

* * *

"So that's Dorothy Catalonia?"

Trowa glanced at the direction his pseudo-sister was looking, and answered simply, "Yes."

Catherine Bloom raised an eyebrow; "She looks so young."

"War ages people," Trowa said noncommittally. He was all too familiar with that concept.

"Still…" Catherine shrugged after a minute, and smiled at Trowa. "Will you excuse me for a minute?"

She gestured in the vague direction of the hallway that led to the closest restroom, and Trowa nodded. He did not mind being alone for a bit.

Catherine smirked as she walked away. Trowa would probably enjoy his time alone, because she wouldn't be there to drag him onto the dance floor. Although he was far too polite and quiet to actually protest against dancing, she knew he preferred not to.

She glanced back, and saw that Quatre, who was smiling widely, had joined Trowa. They saw each other so rarely, what with Trowa being on tour with the circus and Quatre being kept busy with his company on L4. Now that there was no war and no need for the Gundam Pilots, Catherine did not disapprove of the friendship as she had so fiercely done before.

Checking again to make sure that Trowa was occupied, Catherine slowly changed her destination and headed towards the very same side door to the gardens that Dorothy Catalonia had just recently stepped through.

* * *

TBC…

A.N: Catherine-lovers, don't lynch me yet! Catherine is NOT a villain of this piece!


End file.
